# UK borrowing rises to £24.5 billion in September

> ONS measured public sector net borrowing at £24.5 billion in September, 7.7% higher than a year earlier.

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- Publisher: Newsverum
- Section: Fiscal Policy
- Country: United Kingdom
- Published: 2026-10-21T10:31:31+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-21T10:31:31+00:00
- Event / data period: 2026-09
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The public sector borrowed £24.5 billion net in September 2026, £1.8 billion or 7.7% more than in September 2025. Borrowing from April to September was £97.8 billion, 4.3% lower than in the same period last year but £6.0 billion above the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast.

Central government debt-interest payments reached £10.9 billion in September, up 16.6% year on year. Public sector net debt was provisionally estimated to have exceeded £3 trillion at the end of September for the first time; ONS says this estimate may be revised as more data arrive. Central and local government borrowing were £21.2 billion and £2.9 billion respectively.

## Data

### Public borrowing and debt interest

September 2026 borrowing and debt interest; financial-year total through September.

Methodology: ONS measures are in £ billion; year-on-year and forecast comparisons are described in the text.

| September net borrowing | April–September net borrowing | September debt interest |
|---|---|---|
| 24.5 | 97.8 | 10.9 |

Sources: <https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/bulletins/publicsectorfinances/september2026> · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/uk-public-sector-borrowing-and-debt-september-2026/data/borrowing-and-interest?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/uk-public-sector-borrowing-and-debt-september-2026/data/borrowing-and-interest?lang=en&format=csv)

## Sources

- [Office for National Statistics](<https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/bulletins/publicsectorfinances/september2026>) (Source checked: 2026-10-21; Published: 2026-10-21)

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